Traverse mechanism



May 17,1927. 1.629.082 c. a. uuosu ETAL TRAVERSE IIBOHANISI 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 9. ".1921

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Patented May 17, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT LOQFFI'CE'.

CARL E. LINDEN AND GEORGE E. LANGEN, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNORS TO THE CINCINNATI PLANEB COMPANY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

' TRAVERSE MECHANISM.

Applicationfiled February 9, 1921. Serial No. 443,652.

Our invention relates to traverse mechanism, as more particularly applied to plan ers and compound boring mills.

There are several devices on the market for applying a rapid traverse and a stepby-step traverse, as controlled by an operator to planer heads and boring heads, said two movements being for the purpose of preliminary adjustments and retraction of the tools and for a regular advancing movement timed with other mechanism whic feeds the work tothe'said tools.

Our device'is of this character, and is particularly directed to the correction of various mechanical disadvantages of prior mechanisms and simplifying the operations necessary toaccomphsh the various movements.

Among other things we provide a hel drive for the rapid traverse feeding movements, and a reciprocating drive for the ina termittent step-by-step movements. The belt avoids the use of an extra shaft and keys, for the purpose of accommodating various elevations of the crossrails of the machines towhich the device is applied, and may be conveniently mounted and driven without special modifications of the usual planer or boring mill types, as would be the case were a constantly driven shaft to be a necessity, since the belt can be driven in different ways, either from a pulley mounted on the main driving pulley or main driving shaft of the mechanism, or from the top ofthe machine free of interference with the trip devices which effectuate a reversal of the work feeding elements.

The gear arrangement at the ends of the cross rails of the machines are neat and compact, and positive in their action, and.

simple clutch mechanisms may be employed for stopping, starting, and reversal of the rapid traverse or continuous feeding move ments, all of said manipulations capable of being made while the machine is in motion, Moreover it will be noted that we have provided a construction in which spur gears alone are provided for the entire transmis-.

sion and the employment of bevel gears is completely avoided. Other points of advantage mechanically and functionally will be made evident in the following description wherein the method of, accomplishing our object 1s specifically pointed out and claimed.

Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an end elevation ofthe gear system, shown in Figures'Q and 3. V

Figure 5 is a perspective of one of the shifting levers.

The device is shown as applied to a'planer. having a. housing 1, with a cross rail 2, a reciprocating rack 3, and a. driving pulley 4. Passing overthe driving pulley is a belt 5, which has suitable idlers 6, 6, and an adjustable return idler 7, said last noted idler being slidable in a box 8 under the influence ofan adjusting screw 9.

7 On the cross rail slide are the usual tool heads under the control of rail screws 10 and 11 which extend into a gear case carried on the end of the rail and are capable" of step by step operation in either direction. On the screws 10 and 11, which are the ones to which this invention is applied, are

mounted the usual sliding click gears 12 and 13, same, being keyed to the screw, ends as in normal construction. The screw 10 may be utilized to shift the tool saddle and the screw 11 to change the elevation of the tool head eachis reversible and capable of independent actuation by means of reversible double ratchet click gears. An optional use for screws disposed in the positions of the screws 10 and 11 may be to drive separate tool heads on the eross rail.

lThe reciprocating rack 3 meshes with a pinion 14, mounted fast on one end of the haft 15, said shaft carrying also fast therecrating operating arm or lever on, and at the forward end of the gear box, a large gear 16 which meshes with both of the click gears when same are in normal position.

In any position of the cross rail it is evident that the reciprocation of the rack will cause the click boxes to operate, said click boxes as in normal construction, causing the rail screws to move intermittently.

The-rapid traverse, or continuous movement devices, are operated from a pulley 17 mounted fast on a spindle 18 which carries fast thereon a gear 19.

Alongside of the gear 19 and in mesh therewith is an idler gear 20, having a suitable stud in the gear case and serving as a reversing gear.

Toward the center of the gear case from thegears 19 and 20 are located, adjacent said gears 19 and 20 respectively, studs 21, 22- respectively, said studs each carrying two gears, one fast and the other loose.

Taking first the stud 21, it will be noted that it carries the gear 23, having a clutch face 2%, said gear 23 being in mesh with the direct driven traverse gear l9. A sleeve 25 on the end of the stud, having a channel 26, carries a gear 21 The sleeve has a clutch face 28 which meshes with the clutch face 24, when the sleeve is moved inwardly of the gear case by an operating finger engaging in the groove thereof.

Below the stud 21,.on the stud 22 is a like mechanism to that on the stud 21, the movable gear 29 being the only one shown (Fig. 2).

Mounted on a swivel 30 located within the gear case between the studs 21 and 22, is an 31, the end of which extends down throughthe open base ofthe gear case, where it is equipped with an ophandle 32. The handle when moved inwardly of the machine will push over the lower. one of the sleeves into meshing position, and when moved outwardly will throw over the upper one of the sleeves into mesh, the engagement with the sleeves being by means of tongues 33 located on the arm above and below its horizontal pivot.

Turnin now to the central shaft by means of which the ordinary traverse is operated, it will be noted that mounted thereon is a loose-gear which is in a position to mesh with the gear 29 of the lower set above noted, and. the gear 27 of the upper set. Also pivoted loosely on this shaft are two operating levers 35, 36, one extending above the shaft and one below it and having operating handles 35 and 36 These two leversare alike in construction and each has a stud 37, which carries a clash gear 38, the gears 38 thus being movable about the central shaft and hence the gear 84 in a planetary manner. The gears 38 are always in. mesh for this reason with the gear 34, no matter in what position they are moved'hy the operating levers. These gears'also serve as connecting idlers between the gear 34.- and the two gears 39 and 4.0 mounted on the two tool feed screws, when thrown into meshing position by means of the saidlevers.

The levers also carry forks 41, which have cam faces d2, which, when the levers are thrown over will engage with the inner faces of the click gear devices 12 and 13 so that they move said click gears along the screw ends out of mesh with the driver 16, during the san'ie movement that throws the planetary gears into meshing or driving position.

The gears and 40 drive the screw shafts when operated, and during thenormal intermittent feed they are out of mesh with the mechanism that drives them.

The operation of the rapid traverse mechanism is thus as follows: The operator moves the arm 31 outof neutral position during which neither of the sliding gears 27 and 29 is operativeinto a position to cause they desired one of said gears to move at once into clutched position, and mesh position with the centrally mounted idler gear 34. Dependent upon which way the arm is moved, the gear at will revolve in one direction or the other. I

The operator then shifts the desired one of the levers 35 and 36 dependent upon which of the rail screws he desires to rotate continuously. This will serve to connect the gear 3a with the upper or lower rail screw and at the same time force the normal. click gear out of mesh with the large gear 16. The continuous traverse will then revolve the desired rail screw without interference from the normal feed, and to resort to the normal feed again, the selected lever and the rocking clutch arm willbe manipulated and the click gear pushed back into normal mesh by hand. 7 r I It will be noted that the rail screws have their ends which protrude from the feed box formed with a short squared portion 50, but otherwise rounded. The handle 51 for manual adjustments has a socket port-ion 52, which is squared and will not engage the end of the feed screws, but which when pushed inwardly will engage the squared portions of the screws non-rotatably. The click gears have studs 53 set therein, which when thrust outwardly by the forked dev ces of the rapid traverse will unseat any handle which may have been left on the rail screw that is to be turned rapidly from the s uared portion of said screw. Then the handle is thus released, there will be no engagement and the handle will not swing around with the feed screw. v

lilanyaccl ltnts have occurred in traversing machines of the cross rail type by the manual feed handles swinging around and striking the operator. It will be noted generally of our inven-' tion that it permits the use of spur gears throughout, which is a great economy.

Having thus described our invention, what 'we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1.. In a planer rail head, the combination with the feed screws and movable click gears thereon, of an intermittent feed gear train positioned to mesh' with the click gears, and a continuous gear train for rapid traverse of the feed screws comprising in part a member movable into and out of operative relation with the feed screws, means for moving said member, and means for simultaneously moving the click gears out of mesh with the intermittent gear train.

2. In a planer or the like, the combination of a source of intermittent motion timed with the work table movement, a source of continuous motion, a cross rail, and feed screws on the cross rail, a belt for transmitting the continuous motion to the crossrail screws, a direct gear train and a reversing gear train on the cross rail for applying continuous motion to said screws, and an intermittently moving member for transmitting the intermittent motion to the cross rail, and means carried by the cross rail for selectively coupling thefeed screws to the belt and to the intermittently moving member.

- 3. In a planer head, the combination with a gear train for normal movement of the feed screws, a gear train for rapid traverse movement for the feed screws, a movable member comprising a part of the gear train v for rapid traverse movement, said member serving to operatively complete the said train for driving the screws. and means controlled by said movable member for inhibiting the operation of the gear train for the normal feed of each of the feed screws independent- 1y of the other.

4. In a planer or the like,the combination with a cross rail, of a continuous power element, an intermittent power element, a rail or feed screw, a click gear thereon, a fixed gear thereon. means for coupling said continuous power element to the fixed gear, and means for coupling the intermittent power element to the click gear, and means for automatically disconnecting the latter coupling upon the connecting of the former coupling.

5. In a planer or the like, the combination with a cross rail, of continuous power ele ments, an intermittent power element, a rail or feed screw, a click gear thereon. a fixed gear thereon, means for connecting the continuous power means to the fixed gear in a forward or reverse direction, means for coupling the intermittent power means 'tothe click gear, saidmeans for connecting the'continuous power' n'ieans being adapted to simultaneously disconnect the intermittent power means, and comprising in part a thrusting member adapted to thrust the click gear along the feed screw out of mesh with reversely and clutch mechanisms forming part of said gear train elements, and a clutch operating lever, adapted to swing in a plane at right angles to the plane of said gear train elements and clutch mechanisms, said lever being pivoted for said movement between the two said gear train elements, for the purpose described.

7 In a planer-rail head or the like, the combination with a feed screw, click gear slidable thereon, an intermittent pinion in mesh with the click gear, a continuous rotating pinion, means for connecting said continuous rotating pinion with the feed screw, and a tapered arm element carried by said last mentioned means adapted to thrust the click gear out of mesh with said intermittent pinion.

8. In aplaner-rail head or the like, a central shaft, a tight gear on the central shaft, a loose gear on the shaft, a feed screw adjacent said shaft, a click gear on the feed screw in mesh with the tight gear and slidable out of mesh therewith, a tight gear 9. A rail screw, means for power driving 7 said screw, a handle for manually setting said screw, and means for disconnecting it automatically from the screw upon coupling the power means to the screw.

10. In a planer or the like, the combination of a source of intermittent motion timed with work table movement, a source of continuous motion, a cross rail and rail screws on the cross rail, and means carried by said cross. rail for uncoupling the intermittent source to the rail screws. and coupling the continuous source therewith by a single operation, a handle for the screws for manual setting. and means operated by the uncoupling means for disconnecting said handle from the screws.

11. In a cross rail, rail screws, means for driving them continuously, means for driving them intermittently, a handle adapted to engage them for manual turning, and an element for disengaging the handle adapted to operate automatically upon coupling the continuous driving means to the screws.

12. In combination with a rail screw, a gear for driving the same movable along the screw to a non-driving position, a menof engagement upon movement to non-di'iving position.

CARL E. LlNDENf GEORGE ll, LANGEN. 

